Shri Rahul Gandhi said- We are regularly doing Press Conferences. Usually, we have press conference in every 3-4 days. One thing is very clear, the Prime Minister of the country doesn’t want to expose himself before the media. We have been raising the issue of corruption in Rafale deal for quite a long time and this is not a new issue. The matter has been in the public domain for the past about two years. On this issue we have 3-4 questions for the Government.
Our first question is- What is the reason for purchasing an Aircraft of Rs. 526 crore at a price of Rs. 1,600 crore?
Our second question is- What is the reason for snatching away the contract from HAL and offering that to Anil Ambani?
Why Anil Ambani got Rs. 30,000 crore offset project? HAL, Bangalore has its own land, has a great reputation, has been engaged in the manufacturing of Aircraft, then what was the reason for snatching away the contract from HAL and giving it to Anil Ambani while denying employment opportunities to the youth of the country? Our country lacks in employment opportunities. You asked the Government of the France to manufacture 36 Aircrafts in France itself. Therefore, you have seen the vacillation on the part of the Government. When Modi ji returned from France, the Defence Minister clearly stated that he knew nothing about the contract. He further stated that it is only the Prime Minister who knows what actually transpired in France. The President of France said that Narendra Modi Ji directed that offset contract be handed over to Anil Ambani instead of HAL then only India would buy 36 Rafale Aircrafts from France.
So, we are presenting our case before you and the people of the country and the Government has to reply to these questions, but, we do not get any reply. Defence Minister Sitharaman Ji first said that they would disclose the price in the Parliament, then she gave a new version telling that the price is secret. Then the President Emmanuel Macron visits India. I myself along with Dr. Manmohan Singh Ji and Shri Anand Sharma Ji met him. In the meeting President Macron stated that how the price can be secret when it involves the Indian tax payer’s money. After that Dassault in its brochure disclosed the price of Rs. 1,600 crore. So, these are our questions.
Vacillation continues. The Prime Minister never utters a single word. On his behalf Arun Jaitley Ji speaks and Nirmala Sitharaman Ji speaks. We had raised a demand for the constitution of Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) since only JPC has the jurisdiction to hold an enquiry into this matter of massive corruption. I challenged Arun Jaitley Ji for JPC enquiry. You saw, in his tweet, he refused. Now, today the Supreme Court has given a judgment within its limited jurisdiction about the matter. Out of the judgment. I will read out the following three lines… “The pricing details have, however, been shared with the Comptroller & Auditor General, hereinafter referred to as CAG and the report of the CAG has been examined by the Public Accounts Committee hereafter referred to as PAC. Only a redirected portion of the report has been placed before the Parliament and is in public domain.” Now, this is the foundation of the judgment.
Now, Mr. Kharge Ji, who is the Chairman of PAC is sitting here with me on the dais. You can ask him directly as to whether CAG report was presented in the PAC, whether this report was placed on the table of the house and whether he has seen the CAG report at all.
Shri Mallikarajun Kharge ji said- I have not seen any CAG report so far. Today, I had called Deputy CAG, because, we had a PAC meeting today at 3:00 PM. I asked him, how all this happened? Has somebody forged my signatures? When CAG has no information, then there is no question of any information with the PAC. We cannot hide any report, because, the report is presented in the Parliament. I have not presented any such report in Parliament. As long as a report is not presented in Parliament, nobody has the right to speak about it, because, when we collect evidence, we also take affidavit that the discussion in committee meeting remains confidential. Therefore how did all this information come out it is a strange matter? The PAC has been invoked unjustly in this matter because it is untrue.
Shri Rahul Gandhi said– Now, I fail to understand as to how the basic foundation of the Supreme Court judgment has been under question. The foundation of the Supreme Court judgment is that the pricing of the Aircraft has been discussed in CAG, but, the Chairman of PAC who is sitting with me has not even seen the CAG report, but, the Supreme Court has seen this report. I totally fail to understand this enigma.
I am seriously not able to understand. You are laughing, but, I am not able to understand because when somebody lies he exposes himself. Now, the Government has to make us understand as to where is the CAG report. They should show this report to us, to Shri Kharge who is the Chairman of PAC. Perhaps there may be some PAC in any other country, may be in France. This is 21st century, anything can happen, Modi Ji might have constituted his own PAC in PMO. I don’t know.
Frankly speaking, he has completely destroyed the institutions. On one side Election Commission says something, on the other side the Supreme Court says something else, then four judges of the Supreme Court come before the public with their own grievances. In short, they have destroyed the whole system.
Dear Brothers and Sisters, a theft of Rs. 30,000 crore has taken place. I would like to tell the farmers of the Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh that their loans are going to be waived off. The money usurped by these thieves belongs to you, the whole country understand that the watchman is the thief. We will prove before the public that the Prime Minister of the country is a friend of Anil Ambani and he has helped him in committing this theft. You can speak anything, but, the fact remains that Modi Ji cannot hide himself, he cannot run away and he cannot escape. The people of India know the truth. The day an enquiry is held in Rafale deal by JPC, by Parliament, only two names will come out, those will be Narendra Modi and Anil Ambani.